# Cleaning Oxidized Stems



## phineasrex (Jul 12, 2010)

Hello all, 

Just had a quick question. I'm fairly new to pipe smoking, and I bought a few estates pipes from ebay, all of which have oxidized stems. I know you can use a buffing machine to take care of this, but I don't have one of those. What I do have is a Dremel tool with buffing wheel attachments. Was wondering if that is ok to use. I only ask because information I found on another forum specified using a very low RPM setting and I'm not sure my Dremel is that low powered. Just looking for some thoughts/ideas, or whatever you're willing to give me. Thanks in advance.


----------



## Contrabass Bry (May 3, 2010)

Such a small buffing attachment has the makings for some potential uneven spots on soft vulcanite.

If it is fairly bad, start with some 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper and move up from there until you have a smooth matte finish. Then apply some beeswax or (as some have touted) extra virgin olive oil.

My oxidation hasn't been bad so I've been able to use a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. Works real well.

If I don't feel like using a lot of elbow grease with beeswax after that, I'll just take a swab of the oil from the side of my nose to keep it from being exposed until I CAN give it the beeswax.

Some swear by (relatively) expensive pastes and such. I'm a cheapo...


----------



## Brilliant (Jan 28, 2010)

I agree and stay away from the dremel due to uneven spots or damage. You can drop the stems in bleach and let them soak for a bit like an hour or four they will come out looking even worse and then just give them a quick rub down til you are satisfied with the coloring and then I rub mine down with some cooking oil and them sit.


----------



## GuitarDan (Nov 26, 2009)

soak 2 hours in a 50/50 bleach & water mixture, follow up with wet sanding starting at 400, then 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 2000, then buff with mequires auto polish, then buff with chapstick


----------



## GuitarDan (Nov 26, 2009)

use a pink pearl eraser to back the sand paper for even pressure. the more you buff, the less crisp/precise any factory edges become.


----------



## Brilliant (Jan 28, 2010)

Yeah forgot to mention that when the stem comes out of the bleach is it going to be a little on the rough side


----------



## commonsenseman (Apr 18, 2008)

Contrabass Bry said:


> Such a small buffing attachment has the makings for some potential uneven spots on soft vulcanite.
> 
> If it is fairly bad, start with some 1000 grit wet/dry sandpaper and move up from there until you have a smooth matte finish. Then apply some beeswax or (as some have touted) extra virgin olive oil.
> 
> ...


I've recently dicovered the magic eraser, works like a charm. Wet sanding works well too. Just add a little olive oil or wax & you're good to go.


----------



## Brilliant (Jan 28, 2010)

Make sure its Olive oil and not extra virgin olive oil, that is a powerful taste and i don't think it will go well with any tobacco


----------



## GuitarDan (Nov 26, 2009)

Only oxidation is removed by the bleach. The wet sanding and polishing are to perfect the remaining vulcanite surface. 

There is no magic alchemy that transmogrifies green oxidation into shiny black vulcanite...


----------



## phineasrex (Jul 12, 2010)

Thanks guys for all info/advice. Since i have several estates I am going to try several of these techniques and see which one works best for me.


----------



## Brilliant (Jan 28, 2010)

I think there should be an estate pipe refurb sticky, I know the faq has a good bit of info in it but you do have to pull a lot of it out.


----------



## x6ftundx (Jul 31, 2008)

I just bought a bench grinder/polisher from Ebay for 40 bucks and it works great... you can get the wax at lowes or homedepot and the carnoba wax from ebay in a brick... it really works well...


----------



## GlassEye (Oct 25, 2009)

I would use a large felt buffer wheel on a dremel. If you have the speed control set it down to 1, or the lowest setting. I am not sure what polishing medium to use, I have never polished a pipe stem but i have used the dremel to polish many other things. If you do not sit in a single spot you should not have any issues with keeping an even surface.


----------



## Daggers62 (Jun 3, 2010)

Having used a Dremel to polish both briar and stem ............... DONT USE A DREMEL!!!! Trust me, you will regret it, maybe not this time because you might get away without any damage but all that does is lull you into a false sense of security. :mad2::mad2:

As has been said, Bleach in the first instance. You can watch them turn black before your eyes. Make sure you cover any manufacture markings with petroleum jelly, this will protect them, bleach can make short work of white markings!!!!!!!!

They do come out with a rough feel to them, I use a 600 grade sandpaper then move up to 800 and then polish when ready.


----------



## tobacmon (May 17, 2007)

Brilliant said:


> *Make sure its Olive oil and not extra virgin olive oil, that is a powerful taste *and i don't think it will go well with any tobacco


I use this and have no problems ------I don't cover the stem with a heavy coating but enough to bring the shine back.


----------



## RJpuffs (Jan 27, 2008)

With any de-oxydificationisticism method used ... you may lose the "stamped" logo on the bit. A dab of vaseline over the mark protects against bleaching, but buffing/sanding may take some fancy footwork if you intend to save the mark.


----------



## HauntedMyst (Jul 17, 2010)

I'm a big fan of any pipe smoker with more than 6 or so pipes having a couple of buffers for keeping them polished. It seems like a big investment but in the grand scheme of things, I find its a huge help in keeping them looking great. The good news is the pipe stem buffer can be any cheap model from Menards, Home Depot or Harbor Freight for around $25. Add a sewn muslin buff and a regular muslin buff and use Tripol on the sewn buff to clean the oxidation (after using the bleach/water treatment if they are really oxidized) You just have to go slow and use caution. A buffer for the bowls can follow much later since this needs to be a buffer that is limited to about 1700 rpm.


----------

